Full Text

Array Vance says, "Come see
_^3______tf.
pages 4 & 5
and look at
some neat
Phenomena
Paintings
jg by Paterson Ewen."
When Vern Dettwiler and John
MacDonald met on the train to
Prince Rupert as UBC undergraduates in the 1950's they didn't
realize they would eventually form
one of UBC's pioneer spin-off
companies. Their highly successful firm, MacDonald
Dettwiler, has now been
joined by 65 other spin-off
companies which create a
plethora of diverse products
including mushrooms, software for artificial limbs,
oceanographic instruments,
and even something called a
"fluxgate magnetometer".
UBC's spin-off corporations are
growing up, but have left many
people wondering where these ambitious adolescents are headed.
Combined, UBC spin-off companies pumped over $250 million
into the B.C. economy last year,
more than half have developed international markets and many are
seen as leaders in their fields.
The term "spin-off companies"
refers to a rather loosely defined
group of companies that have
sprung up as a result of UBC research. They include all companies
which exist as a direct result of technology developed at UBC or because
the company was formed by people
who gained specific expertise while
studying or teaching at UBC. The
majority come from research in engineering, general science, commerce or medicine—in other words,
the practical UBC research disciplines.
A typical spin-off might be created when a professor or graduate
student with entrepreneurial
gumption invents something with
commercial potential. After the
company is formed the inventor
may maintain ties to the university
through continued research, patent
agreements or even employment of
UBC graduate students.
"I used to work at the computing centre and John was in electrical engineering," said Vern
Dettwiler, explaining how
MacDonald Dettwiler was formed
in the days when computers were
not as common as they are today.
For their first assignment in
the communications industry
MacDonald finally convinced Lun-
kurt Electric that he was the right person to
write their computer program.
Today with annual sales for 1987 of $65
million, the company specializes in producing technical systems for digital data processing and supplying satellite ground station equipment.
"You know when you see pictures from
those weather satellites doing cloud systems? That's us," said Dettwiler.
As the company began to grow and the
partners were eventually able to hire their
first employee, both were still working for
the university and moonlighting as businessmen.
"The university administration
doesn't research something for
commercial purposes .. people
doing research are resented by
people who have to teach"
■ Dr. B. Narod,
Narod Geophysics Ltd.
At that time, in the late 1960's, it was
the exception to the rule for people associated with the university to use UBC tech-
VOLUME 7, Number 6
Brains vs Bucks
UBC spin-off companies flourish
amid academic criticism
By Carol Swan
nology and research space for commercial
purposes. Academics masquerading as
businessmen are still uncommon enough to
raise some eyebrows and there are some
fears that emphasis on commercialization
may distort the university's academic priorities.
New Democrat MLA Darlene Marzari,
while stressing that it is "wonderful" that
UBC is becoming more commercially oriented, has concerns about an over-emphasis on business in the academic community.
"My concerns are that the balance of
business oriented enterprise and broadening students minds might become muddied.
I fear for the nature of education: teaching
students to read, write and think," said
Marzari.
"Liberal arts are waning while computer science and applied science are being
encouraged," she added.
Al Fowler, manager of patents and licensing for the UBC Office of Research
Services and Industry Liaison, admits that
some people object to research for commercial purposes rather than mere pursuit of
knowledge.
"It depends on what you're trying to
achieve. On the one hand you do research to
gain knowledge but if the object is to learn
for the purpose of applying it...you need
spin-off companies," says Fowler.
"In the old days it was 'publish or perish'; the way you transformed technology
was by publishing. But a lot of big companies don't want this because they don't get
any protection," since the research has not
yet been applied or patented Fowler says,
explaining that you can't patent something
that has already been published.
/ fear for the nature of
education: teaching students to read, write and
think.
-Darlene Marzari. MLA
Spin-off companies "may be crass but
may also be essential. Research is done but
often nothing happens to it otherwise," says
Fowler.
The motives behind spin-offs are not
always just to find practical outlets for research. These academics cum businessmen
are out to make money and there are profits
in spin-offs.
Barry Narod of Narod Geophysics Ltd.,
the producer ofthe fluxgate magnetometer, a geophysical instrument,
says his business means that he
doesn't have to spend his time
teaching, which "pays next to nothing".
UBC itself also gains financially from its association with the
spin-offs.
Peter Larkin, vice-president of
research explains that a company
must give the university a royalty if
they have a licensing agreement.
"UBC received $600,000 on all
licensing agreements last year and
several ofthe licensing agreements
are with spin-off companies," says
Larkin, who noted that under the
terms of the UBC agreements half
of the royalty goes to the inventor
while the other half goes back to
UBC.
If the spin-off company's association with UBC does not involve a
licensing agreement, no money
changes hands, Larkin added. In
the case of MacDonald Dettwiler,
the founding members took their
knowledge out in their heads and
thus don't pay a royalty.
No longer having any official
ties to the university, MacDonald
Dettmeier has reached adulthood in
the corperate world. "I have no
complaints" about the break from
UBC, says Dettwiler, but acknowledges that spin-offs have often been
viewed quite negatively by the academic community.
"English literature and ancient
history don't have practical applications but things like engineering
and computer science do," he says,
adding that he feels students benefit from the practical knowledge
professors gain from outside the
university.
Over the last five years, the
provincial government has encouraged the growth of spin-offs by helping to create the Industry Liaison
Office under the Economic Regulation Development Agreement
(ERDA).
Spin-off job creation, 2,385 jobs
in 1987, is especially appealing to
the people in Victoria says Fowler.
Larkin agrees, and added that
the provincial and federal government programs help finance many
spin-offs.
"The whole process is taking off. People
realized a lot of money was being spent on
research and no one was picking it up for
comercial use," says Fowler.
But according to Narod, too little, not
too much, has been done to encourage spinoff companies.
"They (the university administration)
don't want you to research something for
commercial purposes....People doing research are resented by people who have to
teach," says Narod.
Narod would like to see Canada move
towards the more commercially oriented
American universities and senses resis-
tence to change at UBC.
"I tend to think the company spin-off
happened in spite of UBC. It's a misguided
strategy. A more pragmatic approach is
needed," said Narod.
"Every single example of (spin-off) success has something to do with a Phd. who
can't work within UBC," he added.
Nonetheless Narod still maintains
close connections to UBC, currently using
the help ofthe Liaison Office to negotiate a
contract with the United Kingdom.
Vancouver, B.C. Wednesday, August 10, 1988 THE MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY WILL HOST THE VIOLA
DUO OF LISA MOODY AND ALICE WATERMAN,
WHO FORM MOLTO VIOLA.
Molto Viola, which concentrates on classical repertoire, will perform music ranging from Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 to
works written for them in 1987. The concert will take place at 3:00
pm in the Great Hall on August 16.
Concerts are free with museum admission.
For further information contact Rosa Ho, 228-5087
DAVID SANBORN BAND
Expo Theatre, August 18, 7:30 pm, Tickets: $25,
VTC/CBO: 280-4444, Information: 682-0706
Internationally renowned saxophonist combines elements of jazz
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S/.LES/.LES.4LES/.LE
2/THE SUMMER UBYSSEY
August 10,1988 ^* S_*_H HS-AtfV,
S t*J tS *.
'Systems' swaps
reason for
racism
Violence does not justify racism. Nothing
does. Systems nightclub has a racist door
policy. It restricts access to groups of Asian
people.
But Systems manager Dale McRitchie has
a problem. He has an employee in the hospital with a bullet scar on his face. Unfortunately, McRitchie, in trying to remedy the
problem of youth gang violence in his club,
has created another malady. His problem is
violence, not Asians. And steps to solve this
dilemma should deal with violence, not race.
Members of Asian youth gangs, who may
be responsible for the Saturday night shooting, are defined by three criteria - they are
young, they are Asian and they are dangerous. McRitchie has chosen the wrong criterion. He has chosen to rectify his very real
menace by limiting access to Asians. But just
as all youths are not gang members, neither
are all Asians.
Morally and legally, McRitchie cannot
discriminate at the door on the basis of race.
And, obviously he cannot discriminate on the
basis of'youth'. His only recourse, then, is to
limit access on the basis of danger.
Today, there are methods of dealing with
the element of danger. Guns, knives and brass
knuckles can be discovered upon entry by a
metal detector.
Systems could implement a comprehensive
membership policy mandatory for all Systems
patrons. Members would be subject to a police
check and club entry would be denied on the
basis of a criminal record.
Members should be made to sign in and
leave identification at the door. If violence
breaks out, the police know who was in the
club on that particular night. They have
somewhere to start.
These steps towards ensuring the safety of
Systems patrons and staff are not meant to
eliminate the problem of Asian youth gangs.
They are meant to remedy an isolated symptom of the problem.
These solutions may sound idealistic and
cumbersome. But anything works better than
racism.
TMiliiSSEY
August 10,1988
The Summer Ubyssey is published Wednesdays
throughout July and August by the Alma Mater Society of
the University of British Columbia. Editorial opinions are
those of the staff and not necessarily those of the
university administration, orof the sponsor. The Summr
Ubyssey is published with the proud support of the
Alumni Associatioon. The Ubyssey is a member of
Canadian University Press. The editorial office is Rm.
241k of the Student Union Building. Editorial Department, phone 228-2301; advertising, 228-3977.
blue turtles rattled the windows as alex Johnson contemplated the virtues of thumbtacks while ted aussem - profes- _
sional trog, dreamed of asparagus soup, chris wiesinger
stared on madly, muttering "option A?" please let me go
home, gasped paparazzi specialist mandel ngan from
under the heel of merciless deanne fisher (deeeee-ahnn) as
she sipped another brewski. wowy, he's squirming announced an astonished katherine monk to martin da wes,
who by this time was far beyond the reach of any mere
mortal, steve chan was astro travelling in an attempt to
discover the question to the answer and a good cup of coffee
for carol swan despite her refusal to believe that elvis
presley is alive and well, living in sin as a baptist minister,
no shit! cried sheila west collapsing into a fetal position.
Jennifer lyall chortled because she knew that dan andrews
was plotting to expose all to the verbosity of olivia zanger.
entertainment:
Martin Dawes
news:
Deanne Fisher
city desk:
Katherine Monk
photography:
Mandel Ngan
production:
Chris Welslnger
mJU. -«**- -il. .1-— -
■ >?/,■'ft
*-*»_-J
At A if.
UNAS*-*
Letters
The Ubyssey welcomes letters on any Issue. Letters must be typed and are not to exceed 300 words In length. Content
which is judged to be libelous, homophobic, sexist, or racist will not be published. Please be concise. Letters may be!
edited for brevity, but it is standard Ubyssey policy not to edit letters for spelling or grammatical mistakes. Please bring
them, with identification, to SUB 241k. Letters must Include name, faculty, and signature.
Mandatory retirement fails in
theory as well as practice
Obliquely responding
to Mr. Willoughby's letter of
August 3 provides an opportunity to set forth arguments against the admissibility of mandatory retirement. This I will proceed to,
afterafew cursoryremarks.
My previous letter was
not a formal rebuttal of Mr.
Preinsperg's arguments
supporting mandatory retirement, none were given.
Rather, I merely elucidated,
primarily using his own
words, the facile and shrill,
histrionic tenor of Kurfs
tirade. Secondly, I stated
my disagreement with some
of his statements or conclusions.
I do not question self-
interest as a prime factor in
the motivation for our behavior. Nor can I dispute
that bureaucracy can be inimical to and to a great extent subverts the intentions
for instituting tenure, academic freedom and any semblance of meritocracy. Having admitted this, the manifestly untenable practise of
mandatory retirement remains.
Mandatory retirement
is a social injustice based on
arbitrariness an/or unjustifiable incrimination. The
criteria upon which it is
based are invalid; nor will
such a practice accomplish
the ends for which it was
instituted.
Mandatory retirement
was deemed impermissible
and unconstitutional be
cause it was found to be discriminatory solely on the
basis of age. In terms of
employment standards it is
equitable to the right not to
be discriminated against
because of gender, race,
nationality, etal. One's age,
like one's gender or one's
place of origin, does not,
necessarily, determine one's
competency. Therefore, it
cannot be used to deny or
remove one from a job. In
other words, with respect to
mandatory retirement, a
person does not lose the
ability to perform their job
the day after their sixty-
fifth birthday; whereas, on
the previous clay, they were
fit for duty.
If mandatory retirement was meant to facilitate
a safeguard against incompetency, then we know
empirically that it fails utterly. Incompetency knows
no age! Nor does this policy
alleviate the lack of positions available to young
graduates and professors.
The blame must be laid elsewhere: abysmal financing
structures, disproportionate enrollment within faculties, social stigmas, there
are other arguments
against mandatory retirement but this should be sufficient.
Let it be said for the
record that a meritocracy
also has its demerits. Discovering valid criteria for
measuring merit objectively
is a difficult proposition.
B-2 Ellex
Elliger Hohe 13
5300 Bonn 2
24 July, 1988
The Editor,
Ubeeshyee (Students paper)
Dear Edlotr,
I have enjoyed being in UBC campus for about
a week and I think, that is one of the most beautiful
University Campus in the whole whole. Added to the
natural beauty, the planners, who must be
complemented for sense of natural enironment
preservation, have very thoughtfully decorated the
campus with additional beautiful gardens. Still
more, I was very much overwhelmed by friendly gesture
of all Canadians. Plese, accept my congratulation
for making the campus in particular and Vancouver in
general so beautiful.
May I use your esteemed paper to try to
communicate with one of the student (I guess) who left
never erasable impression on me. Please, put the
following passage with blanks on your paper for 3
alternative issues (or as you please) earliest
possible. Whoever fills all of the blank correctly,
will be the person I am looking for. Excuse me for
not writing my name but if this search is successful,
I will answer any question at that time.
Passage
"On Friday 8th July, I left the campus at
about 1 O'clock in the afternoon by bus no. -10 and
was sitting in the first row. A strenger got in and
sat just behind the driver's seat, facing me
diagonally. He was 1 In.Unn and
constantly starred at me as if I was the Miss
Universe. I was wearing 2 with 2.
and was reading 4 . When I occasionally
looked at him, he would be still staring at me. Then
some older people got into the bus in_woodland street
(?), he kindly left his seat for them. Meanwhile
about 15 minutes passed and my stop came. I picked
up my 5 and hurriedly managed to
say fi before I got down. I heard
him say 2 but he never could get
down".
Our guesses: 1.shady; 2.a fish; 3. chips; 4. A Marvel Comic; 5.nose; 6. 'Got change
for a buck?"; 7. "I'll give you three quarters." - ed
Send your guesses to The Ubyssey SUB 241k
What would the standards
be? And obviously, any Committee entrusted with determining advancement,
reward or punishment is
always susceptible to arbitrariness, politics and prejudice.
This issue is, indeed, a
conundrum. I maintain,
however, that mandatory
retirement will not ameliorate the situation.
Tom Andrews
Philosophy 4
6/THE SUMMER UBYSSEY
August 10,1988 Arts & Entetainment
Paterson Ewen's plywood phenomena
The Great Wave: Homage to Hokusui, 1974
By Martin Dawes
The Vancouver Art Gallery occupies a ridiculous
structure. It squats incongruous amongst the
skyscrapers, its religious roof propped up by hulking
neo-Roman pillars - a motley crew of ancient influences
designed to reflect the dignity and importance of official
proceedings.
Aside from art students, only the middle-aged venture indoors to examine its contents. Bums sleep on its
lawns and eat the flowers, and the young and restless
use it primarily as a theatrical prop.
Perhaps this is because young artists rarely get
shown there...
Canadian artist Paterson Ewen was born in 1925.
He was an abstractionist painter until the late '60's
when he "became bored with (his) own work" (Ewen's
quotes are taken from the program notes).
This boredom, together with an amateur enthusiasm for natural phenomena, compelled
Ewen to create a new style of art. 1 call my works
'phenomascapes' because they are images of
MANDEL NGAN PHOTO
The Pointsman is a
train worth catching
By Chris Wiesinger
A barren stretch of land. Railroad
tracks. A shack.
Five characters. Pew words.
Meet the sophisticate - beautiful
Stephane Excoffier. Unwittingly, she steps
off a train into another world. The silent
world ofthe primitive...
FILM
The Pointsman
with Jim Van Den Woude and
Stephane Excoffier
directed by Jos Stelling, 1988
Dutch and French with subtitles
Playing at Royal Centre
Meet the primitive - dour Jim Van Den
Woude. He is the pointsman. He controls
the train tracks at this juncture. He
controls this world...
She speaks French - tries to introduce
herself. No answer, he speaks only Dutch.
Two worlds collide; languages create a barrier. Silence reigns.
She will wait. She stands beside the
tracks. Darkness falls. No train. Cold.
Her numb hands knock on his door*
and she enters. He sits, blank-faced,
eating his gruel. She edges to the stove,
seeking its warmth. Tension. Another
futile attempt at communication. Silence
again. But she stays.
Unlike most works in the medium,
Dutch director (and co-writer) Jos
Stelling's The Pointsman does not set out
to solve a problem, make a point, or
provide an 'answer'. Some questions in life
remain unformulated. The answers to
these questions, for obvious reasons, elude
us. In the same way that an artist expresses an idea through abstract forms,
the filmmaker can attempt to imply a narrative using only a bare minimum of
words, and relying on expressions, actions,
and natural metaphors. Stelling has used
these techniques and mediums to weave a
riveting tale of destiny and character.
The train which deposits Excoffier in
the strange world ofthe pointsman is
probably meant to signify the vehicle of
life, the means of realizing motive (as in
loco-motive). The traintracks are almost
certainly a metaphor for life itself; extending from the point of origin (the departure)
to the point of termination (arrival).
Excoffier's character gets off the train on a
siding - we are not told from where she
comes, where she goes, or why. Her
character must define itself in opposition
to the pointsman, without the benefit of
words. We must read her character solely
from her actions. And the questions fore-
what is happening around us as individuals, rain,
lightning, hail, wincL.around our Universe, Galaxies,
Solar Eruptions. They are sometimes inner phenomena. I observe, contemplate, and then
attack."
In fact, the only man-made objects
represented in this exhibition are a
murky wrecked ship and the skyline of
a city cowering beneath chain lightning.
A grade-school-science-fair kind
of feeling pervades the second floor of
the gallery. Ewen has gouged into and painted massive sheets of plywood, and foraged in hardware stores
for the rest of his materials.
He represents weather systems in an almost diagrammatic way. Crude objects are carefully chosen to
EXmBXTlQf
Paterson Et<_n*«
Phe_iom__i._-'ain._ngs
1971-1987
Yaneouvsi __ _ Gallery
until September X2
signify natural phenomena: "a length of wire becomes
■ain, a piece of link fence becomes fog, and so on..."
The moon, another favourite subject for Ewen,
nspires some of his most striking colourizations. Just
as Van Gogh sometimes painted the
human face using colours completely
unrelated to flesh-tones - and in
doing so seemed to discover hidden
emotional expressions - Ewen's moon
colours are often unexpected and
non-literal, yet strangely affecting.
"Solar Eruption" reveals a starting brilliance in its use of line. The edge ofthe sun and
is eruption form a simple thick line against a dark
_*.kground, recalling the masterful beauty of Picasso's
Blue Nude", where a crouching woman is realized by a
vide dark outline on a blue canvas.
There is drama and motion in works like "The
Great Wave: Homage to Hokusai (1974)"; indeed, the
sheer size of his paintings requires Ewen to come to
grips with his materials in a very physical way, an
experience quite different from delicately stroking a
canvas.
"The actual physical movements I make sometimes actually feel analogous to the way things really
happen," says Ewen.
This intensely physical experience is only the
final part of a much longer process. "The way things
really happen" seeds an image in Ewen's mind which
he then has to "live with" until it will "emerge from my
rotating head and be manifested in the plywood."
The result of these processes is a fresh, energetic
body of work (as if his career had really begun in the
late '60's) which is also the product of a fully-matured
artist.
One may only hope that the limitations of increasing age will be unable to quench Paterson
Ewen's glorious artistic rejuvenation.
Moon Over Water II, 1987
MANDEL NGAN PHOTO
Northern Lights, 1973
MANDEL NGAN PHOTO
most in our mind are: Why doesn't she
leave when she gets the chance? What
holds her in place?
Another matter is the character of the
strange pointsman. It is obvious he has
held this job for a long time; we know this
because he has piles of money jammed in a
closet. He speaks very little, even when
the insipid postman (Josse De Pauw), who
brings his wage once every few months, or
the two railroad engineers appear. Again,
Stelling refuses to supply context to the
character; the viewer must infer everything
about the pointsman from the way in which
he acts.
The Pointsman is far removed from
mainstream film in that it demands complete attention to detail. The sparse landscape in which Stelling has situated his
story acts as kind of a tabula rasa; a blank
canvas on which to etch impressions. A
twitch ofthe lip, a bird on the roof, a
contraction ofthe throat - these are signs
which are meant to reveal something
crucial to the audience. The use of color
and texture is also carefully manipulated
and crucially important to the film.
The conservative use of speech as a
rnerlium of communication creates an atmosphere of raw honesty. Speech - the
word - is, in real fife, often used to create
i .Ise impressions and is therefore automatically suspect. Limiting the use of
speech, and emphasizing expression as the
medium of telling the story removes a
distorting veil from human interaction. It
also lends itself to creating moments of
genuine comedy, and Stelling interjects
enough of them to keep a smile on the
viewer's face, albeit an occasionally perplexed one.
Many labels could be slapped on this
film - absurdist, minimalist, farce, to name
a few. To describe The Pointsman in
terms of technical labels is to do it a
disservice; it entertains, provokes thought,
and brings smiles. What more could you
want in a film?
East side cinema serves
up the cream of the crop
By Martin Dawes
Standing upon our fair campus, only
Superwoman could spit as far as the
Vancouver East Cinema. But this sad fact
is easily overruled when one considers
what it has to offer.
How about three different double features a week? How about $5.00 for both
films, or $3.00 ifyou buy a $5.00 membership? How about reasonably priced
munchies, including carrot cake, giant
cookies and coffee, as well as popcorn?
Best of all, how about the pick of the
international film cache, including old
classics like Metropolis?
Upcoming events include a pair of recent films from young Japanese directors.
Tonight and tomorrow the VEC presents
Tampopo by Juzo Itami, and Tokyo Pop
by Fran Rubel Kazui.
Tampopo is a helter-skelter series of
skits on a food theme, loosely connected by
recurring characters. A truckdriver/
cowboy tutors a young woman on the
preparation ofthe perfect noodle; a pair of
lovers eat their way to orgasm; an rich old
man chokes and has to undergo emergency
vacuuming, and so on. Pure fun.
Tokyo Pop is about a female American rock singer who decides to seek
stardom in Tokyo. The film stars Carrie
Hamilton and the Japanese rock star Yutaka
Tadokoro.
From Japan we fly directly to Czechoslovakia for the weekend. The Unbearable
Lightness of Being, set in Prague during
the events of 1968, was justly hailed as a
daring advancement of American film sensibilities. Europeans have long been accustomed to more sex and less violence - and
hopefully, this film is a step in that direction.
Daniel Day Lewis is very sexy indeed as a
womanizing surgeon caught between the
"lightness" of promiscuity and the seriousness
of commitment. Leno Olin steals the show as
Daniel's artistic mistress.
Daisies, the other film on the bill, was
made in Czechoslovakia in 1966 and promptly
banned by the censors. No doubt the censors'
senses reeled at this mad dadaist film about
two young girls having fun. Fun guides their
actions and decides their fates. A philosophy
of life is presented here, and its failure is
mourned.
The science fiction genre is given a
workout the following Wednesday and Thursday (August 17-18): certified lunatic Dennis
Hopper stars in Riders ofthe Storm, and
from New Zealand comes The Quiet Earth,
a fascinating film about a man who is the
only human survivor of an experiment gone
wrong, or so he thinks....
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• If these sores feel tingly or itchy and then pop up at the edge of your lip...
•If they lookblistery...
• Ifyou are healthy, over 16, and unquestionably not pregnant...
• Ifyou wish to participate in a study of a new cream treatment called undecylenic acid...
• If you don't mind that the study is "Placebo-controlled" (1/2 of the entrants get a "fake" cream with
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• If you would accept a $50 honorarium after completion of 6 to 8 study visits to ihe UBC Herpes
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• Then follow these instructions as soon as possible. Do not wait for blisters or sores to form. CALL
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be available at for the next 10-15 min). If it is after 5 pm, it is too late to do the study this recurrence,
so hold on to the paper and call next time if before 5 pm.,
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using stale of the art square parachutes.
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Includes - club membership
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- Canadian Sport Parachuting Assoc membership
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CONTACT: the club office in person (room 216c SUB), or phone 228-4453
or Howard Daugherity at 266-1895
or Nancy Heimbecker at 732-9612
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August 10,1988
August 10,1988
THE SUMMER UBYSSEY/5 Potential developer breaks ground: Crowded UBC daycare awaits funding for new
centres, while graduate students gear up for a fight for their own Infant care facility. deanne fisher photo
Bill 41 ruling pleases
UBC medical community
GSC daycare
swaddled in
red tape
By Katherine Monk
"Ifs a great day for myself and
all the young doctors who had put
their life on hold," said Dr.Peter
Wilson following the B.C court of
appeal's decision to strike down
Bill 41.
Bill 41 restricted access to
billing numbers, preventing
young graduating doctors to bill
for their services and set up practices in areas of their choice in B.C.
"Ifs also a great day for the
medical system and everyone who
uses it, because now people can see
the doctor of their choice, and not
the government's choice," said
Wilson.
Wilson, an ex-UBC medical
student, filed the test case against
the government challenging the
bill's constitutionality in the fall of
1985, when the government refused to grant him a billing number.
"The government finally
admitted that the bill was not
aimed at redistributing doctors in
the province, but limiting health
care costs by limiting the number
of doctors—which really makes no
sense because health care costs
are already fixed for everyone,"
said Wilson.
In the previous government,
Bill 24, a similar legislation, was
also struck down because it was
considered unconstitutional, said
Wilson. "That's what makes it so
stupid, because they already tried
the same thing before—if s redundant."
UBC dean of medicine, Dr.
WA Webber, said the decision
will help take young medical students out of a three year state of
suspended animation, and added
he was pleased a decision had fi-
By Jennifer Lyall
A proposal to develop a new
infant care facility in the graduate
student centre is stumbling
through a simmering jurisdictional dispute between the university administration and the
Graduate Student Society.
The GSS cannot implement
the proposed ground floor daycare
because, while the GSS manages
the grad centre, the university
owns the building and must endorse the plans.
Graduate student society
past president Phil Bennett, who
developed the daycare proposal in
January 1987, saiditis "unethical,
if not illegal" for the university,
rather than graduate students, to
decide how the grad centre will be
operated.
"I think we have jurisdiction
over [the centre] and the university has no right leasing our
space," Bennett said in an interview Monday.
He said the ground floor ofthe
centre is currently "really underutilized." The basement houses
three offices, two of which are
presently vacant.
In 1987 the university leased
the third office to the Koerner
Foundation, which has no plans to
move before the expiry of its five
year lease.
Bennett did not suggest the
eviction of the Koerner Foundation from the basement, but said
there was space for them upstairs.
The university is reluctant to
ask the Koerner Foundation to
move, Bennett said. Neither the
Koerner Foundation nor UBC
vice-president student services
K.D. Srivastava could be reached
for comment.
Bennett said the lack of infant
care facilities constitutes "the
most pressing single need" in
UBC's daycare system, which accommodates only nine children
between the ages of three and 18
months. As of February 1988
there were only 84 infant care
spots in the province.
The GSS proposal is for parent-run co-operative caring for
twelve infants. It would offer
daycare on a full- or part-time
basis, providing the flexibility
students need in a child care service, said Bennett.
"The idea was to have fixed
part-time booking to accommodate course schedules," he said.
Bennett said the grad centre
would be am ideal location for a
new daycare facility because it
wouldbe so convenient for nursing
mothers and other students who
want to be with their children
during the day.
Tne GSS daycare proposal
meets or surpasses all government standards for child care
centres, providing a space Bennett
describes as "quite palatial in
comparison [with other infant
care facilities]."
Because most student parents are in graduate studies, said
Bennett, "I think ifs a service we
should be providing."
nally been made.
"I can understand the
government's reasoning, but (Bill
41) bore entirely on all recent
graduates," said Webber.
Webber noted that UBC was
involved all through the discussion, since the number of graduating medical students was constantly under the provincial
government's scrutiny.
"The reasoning was that ifyou
want to reduce health care costs,
reduce the number of graduating
doctors," said Webber.
"But from our standpoint, we
are producing two-thirds of the
national average of doctors, only
in B.C there are fewer places for
the doctors who are graduating."
Webber added that in spite of
Bill 41, UBC continued to receive
the same number of qualified
applicants as they had in years
prior to the legislation.
Co-ed but not conjugal:
welfare recipient wins
tribunal challenge
By Katherine Monk
The provincial government
has hung itself, according to welfare recipient Fred Bernard.
Bernard challenged the government because he and his female roommate were receiving the
lower welfare rates for married
couples though the two are not
engaged in a conjugal relationship.
But a special tribunal which
included representatives for Bernard and the ministry of social
services and housing agreed Bernard was not having sexual relations with his female roommate,
and that his common law status
should be dissolved immediately.
"The ministry was saying I
was married, and I said I wasn't.
But even the representative from
the ministry finally decided in my
favour," Bernard said after the
August 2 proceeding.
Although Bernard originally
signed an agreement stating he
was living common law, he claims
he was unaware of the implications. Bernard and his roommate
are now entitled to receive approximately two-hundred dollars
more a month between them.
"They asked a lot of very personal questions, and made me say
I was sleeping on the couch. What
business is it of theirs if I sleep on
the couch?" said Bernard.
"One thing I've learned is that
next time Fm going to get a two
bedroom apartment, in fact I'm
already looking for one," Bernard
said.
But Bernard says the big
question now is whether or not
they receive the increase in payment retroactively.
"At least now, if they don't pay
me, I can take them to small debts
court. My biggest problem before
was that I couldn't afford to file
suit against the government," said
Bernard.
Bernard said the government
still discriminates on the basis of
marital status by maintaining
that two people can live cheaper
than one, and has lodged a complaint with the B.C council of
human rights.
"I think I can prove beyond a
shadow of a doubt that I don't eat
less when I live with someone
Wrecked Wreck trail repaired
"Fm still trying to find some
way to bring this in front of a
judge, because as long as the government goes unchallenged, this
will keep happening," he said.
"Everyone deserves to be treated
as an individual."
Wyn Gladman, who represented the ministry in the hearing,
declined comment on the decision,
but said tribunals are only called
in "difficult" situations.
Reconstruction of the
bottom of Wreck Beach Trail
4 will inhibit erosion of the
cliff and improve the safety
of beach patrons, says the
chair of the Wreck Beach
Preservation Society.
The $18,500 reconstruction project, completed by
the Parks Board in June,
used an experimental planting of trees and grass to halt
the accelerated erosion of
the cliff.
"It makes a big matted
ground cover and secures the
cliff face through its root
system," said WBPS chair
Judy Williams.
The WBPS has been lobbying the Parks Board to
upgrade the trail since 1983.
The trail was originally built
in 1981 to keep people off the
crumbling cliff faces, but it
did not check the erosion
and eventually had to be
closed to the public, said
Williams.
"The whole bottom section was very, very dangerous and had been for a number of years," she said.
Vancouver's nude beach
is not serviced by any roads
and is accessible only by
foot.
The WBPS hopes the reconstruction of Trail 4, behind the Museum of Anthropology, will take some ofthe
strain off the better known
Trail 6.
The trails are absorbing
extraordinarily heavy traffic this summer; on a peak
day last month "the whole
beach easily had eleven or
twelve thousand people,"
August 10,1988
THE SUMMER UBYSSEY/3 DAN ANDREWS PHOTO
Japanese ESL students peer into the spiralling abyss of the
undergraduate sweat pit/well of knowledge/den of inequity /
campus dormitory... and uh...oh yeah!! Sedgewick Library
kj.^
OOOOPS!
It wu Dcanne'i fault. Last
week (Aug. 03), Tbe Ubyuey
published tbe 'new' plam far
SUB loop. Or attempted to, at
_ _ any rate. The plans, as they
say, got mixed up. If you looked closely (yes, this was a lest) at the graphic oo the bottom of page J, yon would tunc
noticed that the plans in question closely resemble the way SUB loop used to be. Oh, and another "■'"'ff Deame
made wu to write a cutline for Ihe Powell Street Festival which alleged that it was held on Howe Street. She has
been flogged. Oh, and it was sort of Chris1 faiilt too because he proofed the page and was too bleaiy-cycd to notice
the glaring eiron. He too has been flogged.
N_B. This OOOOPS was obviously written by someone with a Deanne vendetta and someone who
comes out vitually unscathed and blameless. Someone anonymous ha"*-^ me the #*@7ing wrong plans and
Mandel rnambed tbe word Powell so it sounded like Howe. Bleary-cycd, my eye, what a cop-out. And I wasn't?!?
NjN'.B. Oh yah, you're just trying to pass the buck. But maybe we should blame it ao Vander Zalm -
nobodyll believe him when he denies it. Yeah, that's k. It was Tbe Zalm's fault. Someone flog htm please.
r
r
Wrap up the day with
CiTR News Magazine. News.
sports, weather, a movie
review, an editorial comment
and a daily feature.
Weekday afternoons
from 5:00 to 5:30
CiTR fm 102
UBC Radio
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Applications
Are Now Being Accepted
for Six of the Positions on
The Capital Projects Acquisition Commission
This is a council committee which oversees the
proposals for the Capital Projects approved in the
referendum of November 12 to 19,1982
The projects include:
• The Whistler Cabin
• Daycare
• SUB Expansion
• B-lot Barn
• Improved Parking
• Athletic Facilities
• Housing
• SUB Sprinkler System
Applicants can drop off their resumes to
the Administrative Assistant's Office,
SUB> Room 238.
Applications must be submitted no later than 4 pm
Wednesday, August 24,1988 to SUB Room 238
The
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UBC Campus •
Information: -ji
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Welcome
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When you need copies quickly and hassle-free, see us at
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5706 University Blvd.
222-1688
UBC Aquatic Centre
The University of British Columbia, 6121 University Blvd.,
For information Call: 228-4521
Swimming Schedule For Indoor and Outdoor Pools
Hours Effective June 27 to September 4, 1988
SESSION
PUBLIC
SWMS
DAYS
Mon to Fri
Mon/Fri
Wed
Sat/Sun
Sat/Sun
HOURS
1:45 pm to 4:15 pm
6:30 pm to 10 pm
7:30 pm to 10 pm
1 pm to 5 pm
6 pm to 10 pm
ADMITTANCE TO:
Pool is open to all ages. Children under 8
must be accompanied by an adult Rtness
area is opentothose16andoverforan additional charge of $1.00
NOTE: August 24 to September 9: Afternoon Public swims will end at 3:45 pm and evening public swims will
start at 7:00 pm.
FAMILY Wed 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm" Familiesonly. childrenare admitted FREE
SWIMS Sun 10.0amto 12:45pm only when accompanied by their OWN
parentis). Adults without their own children
are not admitted. Passes and book tickets
are not accepted and fitness area is closed.
"NOTE: August 24 to September 9: Swim win start at 7:00 pm.
ADULT
SWMS
Tues/Thurs
Sat
8 pm to 12:25 am" Adults: 18 years and over. Proof ol age
10:15pmto12__am may be requested. Fitness area is open
with additional charge only until 10 pm.
"At 10:00 pm, fitness area is closed and steam and saunas are open and coed.
ADULTS
PARENT
SWM
Mon/WeoVFri 9:15 to 11:25 am
Starts Monday, June 271h to Friday, September 2 1988.
Cancelled on Fri., July 1, Fri., July 22 & Mon., Aug. 1
Anyone 18 years old and over. This swim
coincides with children's lessons, therefore the availability of the indoor and outdoor pools is limited. Rtness area, Sauna
and Steam available. Cost is $2 for everyone. No book tickets or passes accepted.
CO-ED
EVENING
FITNESS
Tues/Thurs 6:30 pm to 8 pm
Starts June 28 to September 1,1988. Cancelled on thurs. July 21.
Anyone 18 years and older: 50 min of
dryland exercises, 30 min of water exercises. No book tickets or passes accepted.
70 people maximum per session. Cost
$2.00.
FITNESS The new fitness area has universaVglobal stations, hydra-gym exercise machines, stationary
AREA (FOR bicycles, dumbefls, wall mirrors, exercise posters, weight scale, steam rooms and saunas. All
AVAILABLABIL- the equipment is suitable for every level of fitness - so drop by the fitness area to get in shape
fTY REFER TO or maintain the one you have! Please read schedule for hours of operation. Fitness area is
SPECIFIC supervised by an attendant during the University, Public and Adutt swim sessions and is open
SWM to anyone 16 years and older. Cost is $1 extraoverandabovesingleadmissionfeeforpool
SESSIONS) use. T-shirts, shorts and runners must be worn when using the Fitness Area.
ADMISSION FEES JH&n
Chidren: 3-12 inclusive $1 00
Under 3 admitted tree
Seniors: 65 and over $1 00
Youth: 13-17 inclusive $125
UBC Students: valid student card $1 25
Adults: 18-64 inclusive $1 50
Keep Fit and Swim $250
Ftness Area Card
Book
Tickets
10 for $ 8.00
10 for $ 8.00
10 for $9.50
10for$ 9.50
10 for $12.50
10 for $20.00
15 for $12.00
$25.00
$25.00
$30.00
$30.00
$35.00
Please note: To use fitness area during Public and Adult swim sessions there is an additional charge of $1.
The area is only open to those 16 years and older.
Please Note: Swim Schedule and Admissions Fees Are subject to change without notice
HCNE//1_\CCN
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featuring Lamb on the Spit $8.95
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August 10,1988
THE SUMMER UBYSSEY/7 News
Demonstrators
rally in memory
of 1956 march
on Pretoria
By Mandel Ngan
"We are trying to overthrow a government and
a system of apartheid
that is the shame of the
world," shouted Alderman Libby Davies from
the steps of city hall.
Davies proclaimed August 9
as The day of support for the
struggle of women in South Africa
and Namibia" in her opening
speech for last Sunday's march
and rally organized by The
Women's Day Committee of the
Anti-Apartheid Network. Demonstrators trekked from Vancouver city hall to the YWCA on Burrard Street to commemorate the
1956 march into Pretoria by South
African women in a show of defiance against the pass laws, which
require blacks to carry identification at all times.
The question of effectiveness
is often raised about demonstrations and rallies. Activist Rosemary Brown acknowledged the
problem.
"When we think of the beatings and the incarcerations and
tortures, and the various forms of
oppression which people in South
Africa, including women and children, are going through, marching
from city hall to the YWCA and
even talking about it doesn't seem
like a great deal.
"In fact what we are doing is
saying that we have not forgotten
the struggle, that we remember
that there are people in South
"Give way Botha, give way," says one of the Vuisisizwe Players at the rally In support of South Africa's women.
Africa who still do not have the
right to be treated as human
beings. What we are also saying is
that we are not going to relinquish
fighting on their behalf, right here
in this country," she added.
Native speakers, such as
Marie Wilson ofthe Gitksan tribal
council, made comparisons between the treatment of blacks in
South Africa and the treatment of
native people in Canada - and of
the hypocrisy ofthe Canadian government in condemning the South
African government's treatment
of blacks and yet continuing its
own mistreatment of Natives.
"The Canadian part of me
rejoiced that the Honorable Joe
Clark is sponsoring efforts to deal
with the world wide abuse of aboriginal people.
"But the Gitksan part of me
watched in astonishment and disbelief that Canada can blatantly
examine the molt in their
brother's eye, and yet Canadian
authorities on behalf of the Canadian people refuse to acknowledge
and remove the molt from their
UBC's new registrar keen
to revamp student services
own social and political eye," said
Wilson.
Also present at the rally was
Susan Mnumzana of the African
National Congress' observer mission to the United Nations.
"Our people... are
saying that we are
prepared to suffer if
only to live as human
beings."
"We are talking about war",
she said. "We are talking about a
very unfair war. We are talking
about guns that are directed
against children who have only
stones."
MANDEL NGAN PHOTO
On the subject of freeing Nelson Mandela, Mnumzana said, "Of
course Nelson Mandela will re- -*
main in jail on his 80th birthday as
long as the western government _
won't intervene."
Mnumzana recognized that
black South Africans would be
hurt by economic sanctions, but
points out that they are ready to
suffer if it will lead to the end of
apartheid. "Our people are not ■«<
even saying that it will all be milk
and honey when sanctions are ^v
imposed. They are saying that we
are prepared to suffer if only to live
as human beings," she said.
"Racism is a very serious disease. Racism is deadly. Racism —
makes people stupid, and stupidity is extremely dangerous," said
Mnumzana.
By Deanne Fisher
From standardized
grading to Telereg, new
registrar Richard
Spencer's most important
job is curing students of
bureaucratic headaches.
Spencer, who took office August 1, said the grading system
will undergo considerable changes
as a result of an ad-hoc committee
on grades and grading pracitices.
"The old system is on the way
out," said Spencer. "I would agree
that [the present system of grading] is not good."
Spencer said in the future the
I's, 2's and Ps will be replaced by
A+'s, A's, A-'s and so on, though
not for another two years, and
transcripts would include a percentage rather than a mark out of
150. The number of credits per
course will also double, in accordance with other universities.
This new grading method
can't be incorporated into the present computer record system, said
Spencer. "The present student
record system is pretty old and
clunky. It simply isn't worth
trying to upgrade it."
"Telereg is the first part of a
new system," said Spencer, adding that the next step before imple
menting the new grades is a detailed plan.
Speaking of Telereg, Spencer
said he has received relatively few
complaints on the system.
"I think it's been generally
good," he said, noting occasional
breakdowns, though none longer
than ten minutes.
Typical problems include
people who don't have a touch tone
phone and rushes of calls when the
phone lines are opened up to a new
block of students, said Spencer.
Though some students have
had difficulty paying the required
$100 deposit, which is non-deferable, Spencer said "I expect we're
going to have to live with the system."
The deposit is intended to
ensure students are not reserving
spaces in classes they are not serious about attending, he said. To
alleviate problems for impoverished students, Spencer said he
would look into "some way of lending students the $100."
Because Telereg eliminates
in-person registration week, students may see longer December
exam schedules in years to come,
said Spencer.
"We're going to use that time
to ensure we have a Christmas
exam period adequately long," he
said, adding that the number of 1.5
unit courses are increasing, which
means more Christmas exams.
Because Labour Day is late
this year however, no changes will
occur.
Midterm Break
When asked about the possibility of a reading week in the
second semester, Spencer said it
would be reasonalbe.
"I don't know why it hasn't
been done," he said, adding that it
would not be his decision, but that
classes would continue a week
longer in April, as a result.
Science Meets Quota
Part of Spencer's duties also
include overseeing admissions.
Last year, the Science faculty
reached its quota in terms of enrolment and this year has been forced
to raise the grade point average for
admission.
"This year, the minimum we
admitted was a 2.6 GPA, though
2.5 is published [in the calendar],"
he said.
Arts reached its peak "a
couple of years ago" and is now not
admitting anyone with a GPA
lower than 2.72.
Legally, the university has
reserved the right to turn away
students due to an excess in appli- |
cations, as is published in the UBC I
calendar.
Conflict-Free Exams
Though many other universities post exam schedules at the
same time as class schedules are
released, Spencer said he prefers
UBC's system.
"We guarantee an exam
schedule with no conflicts, [if a
student's lectures do not conflict],"
hesaid.
He recognized that some students are faced with a tight schedule of consecutive exams but that
"our system offers more flexiblity
to students in choice of classes."
Smiling Bureaucracy
One of Spencer's pet projects will
be to improve "the way we handle
individual contacts with students."
"The one area where I have received negative comments is that
students were dealt with in an impersonal way," he said.
Spencer said he wants to reorganize the set-up of the administration building. "It doesn't convey that we are ready to help them
if we can. The student services are
R. Spencer deanne fisher photo -*■
not laid out the way we'd like them
to be."
A proposal has been put forward to expand Brock Hall to in- ,
elude all functions ofthe registrar,
ie. Admissions, Financial Serv-
ices, the Awards Office etc.
"Whether that will occur, I don't
know," said Spencer.
Spencer has been a professor
of civil engineering at UBC, assis- ^
tant dean, and member of the
senate.
"I really think that when my *■
five years are up, people will think
of me as someone sympathetic to
students," said Spencer.
8/THE SUMMER UBYSSEY
August 10,1988

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